Brunson maintains city chair role

Long-time educator and Clinton City Board of Education member Dr. Linda Brunson was returned to the chairman’s seat Tuesday night after she and some of her colleagues took their oaths of office for another term.

Brunson was given the nod from her board colleagues to maintain her standing as chair of the board, marking her seventh consecutive time of holding that position.

“I was appointed to the board in 2018, and this makes my seventh time being named board chair; I’ve literally spent all but seven weeks on the board where I wasn’t the chairperson,” Brunson acknowledged after the meeting.

While the chairman’s role didn’t change, that of vice chair took a new turn as the Rev. Russ Emmanuel was voted into that role, his first time being called to the position. Emmanuel was absent from the meeting, recovering at home from an injury, but was present via conference call to share his thanks for being given the honor of vice chairman.

“I want to say congratulations to Dr. Brunson on being elected as the chair,” he said. “Unfortunately, I’m unable to be there in person tonight but I would also like to extend my celebration to my colleagues, Mr. Edgerton, Dr. Rodriguez and Dr. Brunson for receiving your oath of office tonight.

“It’s just a pleasure to be on this board; I’m grateful for what I get to do and the people that I get to do it with. And thank you for entrusting me with this position to be able to make a difference in our community, with students and staff of Clinton City Schools … thank you so much.”

Emmanuel takes over the role of vice- chairman from Clark Hales who served in that capacity the previous two years.

As the new vice chairman said, not only did the board fill those positions Tuesday night, as they are required to do each July, recently re-elected members took their oaths of office. Taking their oaths were Jeremy Edgerton, Dr. Oscar Rodriguez and Brunson.

“Again, I welcome all who have joined us in person or online to commemorate this moment with us,” Brunson remarked during the meeting. “I thank my family for joining and supporting me as I took the oath of office. It is a job that takes more than one person to do and your family has to make sacrifices as well. I’d also like to thank the 700-plus people who voted for me in the March election; if you didn’t vote but prayed for me to win, I thank you also. It is because of you and the grace of God that I won, and I appreciate your support as I continue on this journey.

“To my fellow board members, as I said six times before, thank you all for trusting me to be the board chair. Thank you for your vote of confidence, and I hope you sense our passion for the opportunities that the district provides for the children we serve. Again, this is not a job for one person, it takes a team working together. We’ve heard a lot about unity and harmony in the last few days and that’s definitely in order here and it takes a lot of love to get it all done.”

With the board reorganized, the three newly elected board members will serve four-year terms, from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2028.

“I want to say thank you, Mr. Clark Hales as well, Clark has served as our vice-chair for the past two years now,” Brunson said. “Also, thank you to our teachers, staff and administrators who work hard every day to make our jobs a little bit easier, we hope to make you proud.“